Chammika Price's Toyota Camry is good on gas, but once prices reach $3.50, she is thinking about riding the bus.

"Not really," she said, but the alternative is now part of the conversation for the guest services representative at Red Roof Inn.

Americans are less prepared to absorb the spike in gasoline prices than they were the last time prices rose this high - in 2008 - because unemployment is higher and real estate values are lower, said David Portalatin, an analyst for the market research firm NPD Group, told The Associated Press.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, believes that the normal seasonal rise in prices has been pulled ahead by events in the Middle East, but he still expects prices to rise further. He predicts they'll reach $3.50 to $3.75 per gallon, barring more chaos in the Middle East.

For every 25-cent increase in the price of gasoline, the nation spends an extra $3 billion filling up its cars and trucks, Kloza says.

"When we get over $3.75, we are looking at very serious consequences for the economy," Kloza told the Associated Press.